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Canby's middle, high school statewide assessment scores drop

With the exception of improvement at Ninety-One School, Canby's middle and high school scores are down

When it comes to middle and high school assessment results, Canby took hits all-around.

Both Baker Prairie and Canby High School students performed lower in 2017-18 than the previous year in English language arts, math and science. Ninety-One School, which in addition to Baker Prairie also houses seventh and eighth grades, provided the redeeming scores, as it saw improvement in ELA among seventh- and eighth-graders and in math among eighth-graders.

All of Canby's secondary students are generally performing lower than comparable Oregon schools, data shows.

Canby High School principal Greg Dinse pointed to low participation rates as a factor in evaluating Smarter Balanced assessment results.

"We have many students opt out, both formally and informally," Dinse said. "Our participation rate is low and hardly representative of our school."

At the high school level, 59.1 percent of students participated in the ELA assessment, 55.6 percent in math and 75.7 percent in science.

Dinse said that students are more receptive to the ACT, and are "motivated to perform" on that test.

Ninety-One School Principal Skyler Rodolph, whose students made huge strides this year, acknowledged that statewide tests do not provide a whole picture of a school, but they do offer a glimpse.

"Scores should never tell the whole story, but I do think they can reflect the story," Rodolph said. "We have a great school culture and a supportive community. That plays a big role as well. However, it is really nice when the hard work and focus that we have put into improvement is represented with a rise in assessment scores."

In a statement concerning results, Superintendent Trip Goodall and Communications Coordinator Autumn Foster pointed out that in spite of debate surrounding the Smarter Balanced assessment, the Oregon Department of Education continues to use it, and the district continues to reflect on the results and use them to inform teaching practices.

"Smarter Balanced assessment results provide us an opportunity to determine where we can improve our instructional practices," the statement said. "We remain committed to providing high-quality education to all students, regardless of race, ability or circumstances beyond their control in order to help them reach their full potential."